'Mathematics for Dyslexics, including Dyscalculia' (2007) 3rd edition,
written with Richard Ashcroft and published by Wiley...... ISBN 0-470-02692-8

'What to do when you can't Learn the Times Tables' and 'What to do when you can't Add and Subtract' have been reprinted and are available from SEN Marketing.

'The second edition of Sum Hope, re-titled as 'Dealing with Dyscalculia: Sum Hope 2 ' was published by Souvenir Press in September 2007.
Reviews include:

Dealing with Dyscalculia: Sum Hope2
Steve Chinn

Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty that affects how people deal with number and number-related tasks. It has a significant effect on
a person's self-esteem and selfconfidence, often causing them to give up on mathematics.

This book is an inspirational read for anyone experiencing difficulty with
mathematics and for those working with and supporting them. The text is well structured and the ideas are set out simply, making it easily accessible for a wide range of readers. It is particularly encouraging in that it starts from a very basic level, ensuring that even the most profoundly dyscalculic person is not 'put off' by not having enough skills or knowledge to even start the book.

Teachers looking at this book will find that it provides a fascinating approach to helping pupils of all ages to work confidently with number.
As you work through the book it provides a clear introduction to some quite difficult areas of mathematics, such as decimals, fractions and percentages, and introduces important everyday number skills. Any teacher who reads this book will change the way they approach and teach mathematics, particularly in the early years, and will have pupils who achieve far better and with a greater degree of confidence.

The case studies give an excellent insight into how people with dyscalculia approach mathematical tasks, and illustrate the importance of allowing them to learn in the style that is best suited to them. The first case study, Ann, shows the devastating and life-long effect dyscalculia can have a on a person's confidence and the stress and anxiety it can cause. Some of the case studies make reference to other areas of the curriculum that can be affected by a difficulty with number-related tasks. A second book that addresses this aspect of dyscalculia would make an interesting read.

This book is excellent value for money; no teacher of mathematics should be without it. The only improvement I would suggest is that the inclusion of some colour illustrations would help make some of the points clearer.

Review by "Special, the NASEN magazine"

'Unconventional and relaxed, Steve Chinn offers a new method to develop one of the most important skills in life, enabling the reader to feel in control' Review by Addenda Books
'For parents who want a good book on the subject there is one that is particularly good and that is Dealing with Dyscalculia by Steve Chinn'
Review by Principal, Rego International School, Shanghai

'The Trouble with Maths' published by RoutledgeFalmer in 2004 when it won the Teaching and Learning Book award from NASEN/TES. 0 415 32498 X

REVIEW: From the Association of Teachers of Mathematics

The Trouble with Maths: A Practical Guide to Helping Learners with Numeracy Difficulties. Steve Chinn. Pub RoutledgeFalmer, ISBN 0 415 32498 X

The ten chapters and five appendices are packed with commonsense wisdom and insights. It claims to be able to be used to:

" identify a problem
" understand possible reasons for a problem
" develop flexible thinking skills
" pre-empt problems
" circumvent problems in basic numeracy
" address the difficulties pupils have with word problems
" teach alternative strategies for accessing basic facts
" recognise mathematics anxiety, attributional style and self-esteem problems
" design informal diagnostic procedures
" extract diagnostic information from pupil's work
" stimulate ideas for teaching maths to pupils who are facing difficulties with the subject

Any book that can do all that is worth its weight in gold! This book provides an excellent starting point for doing all of the above.

At the end of the introductory chapter we are provided with a few golden rules:

" Don't create anxiety
" Experiencing success reduces anxiety
" Experiencing failure increases anxiety
" Understand your pupils as individuals
" Teach to the individual within the group… also known as the @Teach more than one way to do things' rule
" Remember where each topic leads mathematically
" Understanding is a more robust outcome than just recall.
" Try to understand errors ... don't just settle for 'wrong'
" Prevention is better than cure
" All the above rules have exceptions

Excellent advice, which I suspect we all know, but it's good to be reminded of it every now and again!
The second chapter looks at factors that affect learning. What makes this chapter so valuable is that as well as analysing the problems (such as short term memory, direction, visual, speed of working, poor recall of facts, poor reading skills, sequencing skills …) there are numerous suggestions that can help alleviate that particular problem.
The next chapter is an overview of the mathematics curriculum and examines where the difficulties may occur. Chapter 4 looks at thinking style in mathematics, notably the contrast between the inchworm (step by step) and the grasshopper (more intuitive, holistic) approaches.
Developmental perspectives and the language of mathematics are dealt with in the next two chapters. Chapter 7 on 'Anxiety and attributions' pulls together many of the themes in the preceding chapters and examines ways we can reduce the anxiety that is so often associated with maths.
Chapter 8 provides a fascinating tour of the inconsistencies of maths. Mathematics, supposedly one of the most logical of subjects is idled with inconsistencies; to illustrate the point Chinn includes an extract from Mathematics Teaching 175 (June 2001) 12-13, on the illogicalness of concepts associated with telling the time.
Assessment and diagnosis is covered in Chapter 9. Here we have a useful checklist for standardised tests and advice on when and how often they should be used. Also examined are the reasons for testing. There is also a useful section on more informal tests using simple materials.
The final chapter deals with 'the nasties', long division and fractions. This chapter pulls together much of the ideas and advice given in the previous chapters and applies it to different approaches in teaching the nasty topics.

There are five appendices, which deal with further reading, resources, examples of memory cards, suggestions for an inclusion policy and criterion referenced tests.

Overall the book provides invaluable help to all those involved in the delivery and support of numeracy, be they parents, teachers, classroom assistants, SEN coordinators, learning support tutors… It may not be the last word on the subject, but it will certainly be an important first place to look

'The Trouble with Maths' won the NASEN/TES award for the Teaching and Learning Book category in 2004

Books can be ordered direct from the publishers or from SEN Marketing, 618 Leeds Rd, Outwood, Wakefield, WF1 2LT, 01924 871 697
The CD-Rom can be ordered from Ann Arbor, AVP, iANSYST, REM or SEN Marketing (all have websites)